Page 72 of His Scandal
Alex stepped closer until Emmeline would have to back away or touch him. But he stopped before her, and she arched her neck to look up at him. The air was charged with their breathing, his as rapid as hers, she was amazed to see.
“So we’re alone,” he murmured.
She was frozen with indecision, wondering what he’d do, wanting—
He suddenly turned away and sprawled onthe settle. “So tell me about your plans for Willoughby’s teaching.”
The space around her was suddenly so empty. She gripped the back of a chair to keep from falling over. She had wanted to help Maxwell and Blythe, but had not realized how Alex’s presence would torture her.
Or had she? Was she unknowingly doing anything she could to be with him?
No, it couldn’t be true—she wouldn’tallowit to be true. She forced herself to smile and sit across from him. “I just want Maxwell to feel at ease in the company of women, to have a fair chance to compete with other men. Anything you feel would be appropriate, I wish you would teach him.”
He rested his elbows casually on his knees. “You’re trusting me to choose.”
She nodded.
“You seem to have much faith in me.”
“I certainly have faith in some of the things you’re competent at.”
“Only competent?” His smile was so knowing that she blushed. “All right, I’ll accept competent, although I imagine it is not the first word ascribed to me. I have so much faith in my…competence that I propose a wager.”
Emmeline shook her head, hiding her trembling hands in her skirt. Where was Maxwell?This unbearable tension, this feeling of intimate invasion, was becoming more than she could bear. “A lady does not gamble, Alex. Regardless, I don’t see what we could possibly wager on.”
“I wager on a lot of things you might never imagine,” he said slowly. “But I don’t propose we use money. I’ll wager that I can turn Maxwell Willoughby into the most sought-after gentleman in all of England.”
She blinked at him for a moment, wondering if he jested.
“This is foolish,” she finally said. “He does not need to be the most sought-after gentleman in all of England. It only matters to—to one woman,” she finished, relieved that she had not said Blythe’s name. He would go storming from her home if he knew he was training his competition.
Although Alex’s posture didn’t change, he almost seemed to stiffen. “And who is the woman?”
She smiled brightly. “Whomever Maxwell chooses.”
They both heard a sudden knock echo through the front hall, then the steward’s footsteps. They continued to stare at each other, until Alex finally said, “After you’ve seen a demonstration, we can discuss the wager.”
“Demonstration?” she whispered, knowing Maxwell must have entered the mansion by now. “Behave yourself. And there will be no wager!”
Alex watched Willoughby being shown into the parlor. The other man bowed toward him, a little stiffly, perhaps, but when his gaze landed on Emmeline, his smile relaxed.
Hellfire.
“Lady Emmeline, Sir Alexander,” Willoughby said politely.
Alex grinned. “Since I’m to be your teacher, you might as well call me Alex. And I’ll call you Max.”
Willoughby cleared his throat. “Although no one calls me by that name, it would not bother me to have you do so.”
“I think we can start right there, Max,” Alex said, standing up.
“I thought we might have dinner first,” Emmeline interrupted.
“In a moment, my lady. Max, the first thing you must do is lose this stiff attitude of yours.”
Alex heard the groan Emmeline tried to suppress, and watched Willoughby blink at him silently.
“When people or situations take you off guard,” Alex continued, warming to his task, “like my calling you by a different name, don’t act uncertain or hesitant.”
